Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester, NY is one of my favorite places to visit.

The historic cemetery, which was founded in 1838, is one of the oldest in the country.

Mount Hope Cemetery is the final resting place of several notable figures including one of my heroes, the founding father of America's civil rights movement, Frederick Douglass.

Mount Hope is also the final resting place of Susan B. Anthony.

Mount Hope's beautiful hills and valleys which were traveled on by the Seneca Indians and used by them as lookout vantage points, were formed during the ice age.

One of my favorite parts of Mt. Hope Cemetery is the lily pond, which just like the hills and valleys, was also formed during the ice age when huge eskers of ice fell and melted.

Mount Hope's lily pond is home to beautiful creatures including turtles and frogs.

Which is why during a recent visit to the cemetery, I was sad to see that the pond is starting to become a toxic wasteland with trash, bottles, containers, and plastic bags polluting the water.

All endangering the wildlife which calls the pond home.

Trash including a 2x4 and plastic bags floating in the pond

Now I can't say I'm really surprised to see Mount Hope Cemetery's decline in recent years.

You see, Mount Hope Cemetery is owned by the City of Rochester, NY, and it's obvious that city officials, including Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren are more concerned with raking in millions of dollars each year in red light camera tickets, than they are about preserving a beautiful historical landmark.

Rochester, NY Mayor Lovely Warren

All you have to do is walk through Mount Hope and see the abandoned, vandalized, broken headstones that continue to lay on the ground year after year, and the beautiful mausoleums which are boarded up with plywood, then take a walk around the pond, and you'll realize that the City of Rochester, NY and Mayor Lovely Warren just don't care.